


Burned Seeds In an Empty Pot

by FrogDadUntitled



Series: Team Cisnt Heterno [5]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderqueer Character, Neopronouns, Nonbinary Character, Other, Post-Episode: s08e12 Zugzwang, Sad Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, Trans Female Character, yeah this is a team cisnt heterno story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29371716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogDadUntitled/pseuds/FrogDadUntitled
Summary: Spoilers for S8E12!!!Spencer thinks xe needed more time, but xe isn't going to worry the team again. Not that it works.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid, Maeve Donovan/Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia & Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid & David Rossi
Series: Team Cisnt Heterno [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965340
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Burned Seeds In an Empty Pot

Reid is curled up on xer couch, looking at the window. Xe feels out of body. It's calming, if xer honest, just existing yet not existing. Walking the edge of disassociation, just aware enough to see the glint of the window glass. The doorbell rings, shocking xem out of xer trance, and xe walk to the door.

"Reid!" Garcia's cheery voice filters through the door. "It's us!"

Xe smile a little, knowing that if Garcia said 'us', then Morgan is certainly with her. Xe open the door to see the pair. Garcia has a small basket of chocolate, and distantly xe wonders how many extra baskets she has.

"Hey, there's my pretty boy." Morgan croons, a joking tone seeping from his voice. Reid just rolls xer eyes in humor. 

"Come in." Xe gesture for them to come in (which they do), and closes the door. "Why are you here?"

Garcia laughs, pushing the basket into xer arms. "Can't we just visit our little G man?" She smiles. "C'mon, Reid. We're going on an adventure."

Reid is barely able to put the basket down as the pair drag xem out for an "adventure". An adventure which turns out traveling the city to look at all the different pet shops and giving some of them love, if permitted of course. Garcia and Morgan coo over all the different birds and dogs and cats, while Reid examines the rodents. Honestly, xe always wondered if they would be able to take care of a pet, considering how often the team is out. And how isolated they are outside the team. 

. . .

Xe wonder if Maeve likes rats. 

The thought stays, but leaves soon enough when Garcia convinces them to get ice cream so late at night.

-

JJ spends many days siting with Reid, just doing her own thing. Those are comfortable evenings. Reid will usually read a book xe's read a thousand times before, and JJ doing a variety of different books or puzzles or work papers.

Sometimes Reid will take the book of poems xer mom sent to xem, occasionally reading some to JJ (xe wonder if-) Xe take xer time with those days. Xe already knows all the poems, but each read feels different.

After the case in Texas, she and Reid spent the day watching some cooking show. Xe woke up the next morning, JJ making xem some coffee. 

"Can't have my sibling going off caffeine, can I now?" She smiles, and Reid's chest warms as xe sip xer coffee. 

-

Rossi came to xem after a day filing paperwork. It's a welcome distraction most days, but today was just . . . hard. Harder than normal. The _plan_ was to go home and go to sleep, but Rossi jumped into the elevator with xem. 

"Kid," He said, "You're going to come home with me." There was a finality in his voice, and Reid doesn't fight it.

It's a silent night, except for whatever Rossi played on the vinyl. They played checkers, and chess (both which Reid won). And then Rossi drove Reid home, with the latter feeling an odd sense of calm, the kind when you come me after a long personal trip late at night. 

Xe sits on the couch, watching the moon reflect of the window, and fall asleep on the wire between awake and floating.

-

Of all people to come to xer door, Hotch was the _last_ person on that list. And yet, here he is. Standing at xer door. 

"May I come in?" He asks cordially, almost wary. It makes sense, he really doesn't come to Reid's residence often, if at all.

Reid nods, standing aside to let xer boss walk into the door. Xe lead him to the couch, and after he sits, there's the look. 

The look filled with the question, _are you okay?_

No, xer not. Xe still has trouble walking out the door most mornings, and spend a lot of time lost in xer head. Xe's lost and is having a hard time thinking sometimes and what is xe if xe can't _think?_

"Reid." Hotch breaks the train of thought. How long was xe thinking? "You haven't been sleeping."

Xe starts to fidget. Xe wants to pace and scream for letting _Hotch_ of all people notice. 

"I am." Xe respond, and Hotch shuffles to look at xem better.

"Spencer, that's not sleep." Hotch looks . . . sad, like he wants to hug Reid but doesn't know how to ask. "I understand, this is hard. And if you need more time, or less work, that's okay. But you need to _tell_ me. I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Reid is starting to understand why Morgan calls them Mom all the time. 

"I know." Xe mutters, wanting to cry. Xe don't like to cry in front of the team. Maybe it's because xe learned that crying gets you beaten up and shoved into lockers. Maybe it's because they rarely cry. 

A silence settles between them, stretching long and heavy. 

"Can I hug you?" Reid finally asks. Hotch nods, and Reid shuffles closer for a side hug that is solid and warm and _human_. And Reid cries.

**Author's Note:**

> im not sorry. also i just. hotch and reid have now gone through two very similar traumatic incidents and i think after spence comes back hotch is just 'hmmm gonna make sure xe is ok' and xe is not. Also sorry if there's any grammar issues. I still have a problem with writing xe/xem pronouns even when they're my own pronouns ;~;


End file.
